1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device fabricating system.
2. Description of the Related Art
A semiconductor device fabricating device such as disclosed in JP-A 2002-134588, which performs various processes including those for processing a wafer by cleaning, drying and etching, has been used for fabricating a semiconductor device. A conventional semiconductor device fabricating system includes a carrier handling unit for receiving and sending out a carrier containing plural wafers, a wafer carrying unit for carrying the wafers contained in the carrier, and a wafer processing unit for processing the wafers by various processes including cleaning process, drying process, and etching process. The carrier handling unit is disposed in one end area in a box-shaped casing, the wafer carrying unit is disposed behind the carrier handling unit in the casing, and the processing unit is disposed behind the wafer carrying unit in the casing. Stationary platforms are disposed beside the casing. The platforms are used for maintenance work for inspecting and cleaning the processing unit and changing parts of the processing unit and for inspecting the processing condition of the wafer processing unit.
Therefore, a space for installing the stationary platforms is needed in addition to a space for the semiconductor device fabricating system when the semiconductor device fabricating system is installed in a plant. Thus the platforms increase the footprint of the semiconductor device fabricating system. The platforms disposed beside the semiconductor device fabricating system are used mostly for maintenance work and inspection work and are rarely used while the semiconductor device fabricating system is in a normal operation for accomplishing those processes. That is to say, although the platforms are not used frequently, the platforms increase the footprint of the semiconductor device fabricating system. Thus, in some cases, the installation of the conventional semiconductor device fabricating system is subject to restrictions on layout.